Discovery Channel, which aired “Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda,” reported Monday that 8.5 million people in the United States watched the 2 hour and 20 minute broadcast, and nearly 13 million tuned in during the actual 23-minute walk.

Another 2.1 million viewed the event on skywirelive.com, which offered five camera angles for the walk.

It was Discovery's highest-rated live event among adults 25 to 54, and the highest-rated special since “Walking with the Dinosaurs” in 2000.

The walk was also viewed in dozens of other countries around the world.

The U.S. ratings are roughly on par with the viewership of Wallenda's walk across Niagara Falls last year, which aired on a Friday night on ABC. That broadcast reached an average of 10 million viewers for the full program and 13.1 million during the final hour, when Wallenda completed his trek across the falls from the United States to Canada.